Laughlin Boy Scout Troop 280

LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas-- Members of Laughlin Boy Scout Troop 280 work together to hoist a “bear bag” to the top of a tree during an outdoor adventure at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico recently. “Bear bags” are used by campers to deter bears from attacking campsites during the night. (Courtesy photo)

Laughlin Boy Scout Troop 280

LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas--A member of Laughlin Boy Scout Troop 280 prepares to repel down a wall during a team building exercise at Philmont Scout Ranch in the Northeast corner of New Mexico recently. The mission of the ranch is to provide outstanding high adventure to older scouts, fostering teamwork and building leadership skills along the way. Out of more than 1,000 Boy Scout troops who applied to go to Philmont, only 250 were accepted for the program. (Courtesy photo)

Laughlin Boy Scout Troop 280 accomplishes Philmont Trek

Published Sept. 9, 2008
By Janette Doucette

LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Eight boys and four adults of Laughlin Boy Scout Troop 280 experienced nine days of an intense wilderness backpack trek at Philmont Scout Ranch in the Northeast corner of New Mexico recently.

Philmont Scout Ranch, the Boy Scouts of America's premiere outdoor range, is 215 square miles of rugged mountain wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountain range of the Rockies.

The mission of the ranch is to provide outstanding high adventure to older scouts, fostering teamwork and building leadership skills along the way. Out of more than 1,000 Boy Scout troops who applied to go to Philmont, only 250 were accepted for the program. The program requires a high degree of physical fitness from its participants.

The scouts experienced the beauty and challenges of the terrain, including climbing the pinnacle mountain on the ranch, Mount Baldy, at 12,441 feet, named for the absence of trees on the top. The Boy Scout troops hiked a total of 50 miles on their trip, earning the 50-miler patch.

Ranger staff at the camp taught wilderness camping techniques, including first aid, cooking, contour map reading, purifying water, leave-no-trace skills and protection from bears and mountain lions in the area.

Besides the backpacking and hiking experience, the troop met other troops from around the country, and participated in staffed programs of natural rock climbing, black powder shooting, ax-throwing, team-building exercises, blacksmithing, and even panning for gold (with no luck.) The scouts also performed the service of trail building and repair.

While most members of Laughlin Boy Scout Troop 280 had moved per military orders between planning the trek and participating, the troop was reunited at Philmont with members coming from the Washington DC area, St. Louis, and even Germany.

Philmont hosts about 22,000 scouts every summer.